Circular Economy

Taking transformative actions to a circular future

What is Circular Economy about?

It is not an abstract concept anymore. The implementation of the action plan on Circular Economy, which is restorative and regenerative by design, ranks second among European Commission key political priorities for 2017 under the heading "A New Boost for Jobs, Growth and Investment". For a good reason: today's ‘take, make, dispose' linear economic model is no longer sustainable. Moreover, cities can benefit from ‘circularity' by increasing resource productivity, creating jobs and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, this new model requires fundamental changes throughout the value chain, from product design and production processes to new business models and consumption patterns, as showcased by the Blue Economy report. Challenges are considerable and frictions between the existing linear system and circular approaches are bound to arise. How can urban managers smooth the transition to a circular economy to provide cities opportunities for a new source of wealth?